Diarrhea kills 11 people

Diarrhea kills 11 people

At least eleven people have died over the last two weeks while
dozens of others are still receiving intensive medical treatment
following an outbreak of diarrhea in the East Nusa Tenggara
regency of Belu on the border with East Timor.

The six worst-hit villages, all of which are located in remote
areas of the regency, are Lasaen, Fafoe, Maktihan, Umalor, Haitim
and Lalaten.

Bria Yohanis, Belu deputy regent, said here on Tuesday that
the local administration had set up a team to handle the
disaster, including hospitalizing all infected villagers and
dealing with the other problems caused by the epidemic.

He said the diarrhea outbreak had resulted from the poor
conditions in the villages.

"All of the fatalities were due to the victims being brought
to the hospital late," he said.

According to provincial administration data, a total of 35
persons have died from diarrhea in Alor, Manggarai, Sikka and
Belu regencies over the last three months. --JP